One of the most anticipated matches of the final stretch of the I Liga is here, between FC Porto and Sporting, a classic that will clearly impact the national championship title, after somewhat turbulent days on both sides of the barricade. 

The Dragons arrive at this game after the presidential elections that caused a lot of ink to flow (and will do), given that André Villas-Boas ended up dethroning Pinto da Costa (in office for 42 years), on Saturday night, after Sérgio Conceição's much-talked-about renewal with the Dragons two days before the election.

On the side of the Lions, the controversial trip by Rúben Amorim to London, last Monday, gave much to talk about and, regarding this subject, the young coach did not hesitate to apologize, admitting that it was a mistake on his part to travel to England, especially in the final stretch of a season in which he is fighting to be champion, at a time when his future has been widely discussed.

Regardless of the absences on both sides, FC Porto advances to the poster duel of the 31st round of the I Liga with the objective of defending the last place on the podium, facing competition from Sporting de Braga (the same 62 points) and Vitória SC (with 60), while Sporting is fighting to secure its 20th national championship title as soon as possible, given the four-point gap (80 to 76) it has over Benfica.

The Classic at the Estádio do Dragão has a scheduled kick-off time of 8:30 pm (Continental Portugal time), with Nuno Almeida refereeing, and you can follow the incidents of the match, live, on Desporto ao Minuto.

Coaches in direct speech

Sérgio Conceição:

Projection of the game: "I expect a game within what are the Classics in Portuguese football. A competitive game where two teams with individual and collective quality will be present. We hope to have a team within this record. I want and desire support, like in another Classic, with the Dragon full. We want that passion and interaction. That's what we're focused on, focused on the new task".

Controversies on both sides before the Classic: "Nothing that surrounds the clubs should interfere, but obviously it always ends up creating some noise. Within our work, we have to try as much as possible to think about tomorrow's game. We, as responsible coaches, both me and Rúben [Amorim], know this. It can momentarily interfere with the teams, but when the referee blows the whistle, the players just want the ball to roll and enter the other goal, not ours. It goes through there".

Renewal before the elections: "The timing is what least affects the opinions of the members who are going to vote. I believe that it is not on the penultimate or last day that they will decide something, considering the programs they have been seeing. It was just to put on paper something that had already been agreed with our president. I may have a very personal relationship with the President, since he is my friend, but he has many friends who do not serve FC Porto and do not see competence in them in certain records. In these seven years we have regained hegemony. We are the only five-time champion club in Portugal. Speaking of my stay here, we have practically as many titles together as the rivals [Sporting and Benfica] who are ahead of us. We work for the present and the future".

Rúben Amorim:

Importance of the Classic at Dragão: "The importance is always great, it always has a great meaning. It will be the most difficult game of the championship. Obviously, there is what follows and we will be saying the same thing, but I think that, for all the conditions, it will be the most difficult game of the championship. We know the club it is, we know its coach, the pride it has and its players. They are not in the fight for the title, we are and we want to win. We still have to, at least, get six points to be champions. We have to do it as quickly as possible, and that is the focus".

Does the classification reflect the difference?: "No, because of the way we played and the performance that FC Porto has had. The truth is that we live a little bit like that, last year. We even played a little better in terms of football than in the first season, when we were champions, but, with the unfolding of events, with defeats and draws in which we are dominant, we start to create a gap, and, in teams that are used to winning, it is much more difficult to react to these situations. Not even close, not even far, does it reflect the quality of the teams".

Impact of the trip to London: "Sporting players must always feel the pressure and be comfortable with it. It doesn't change anything. We have to win a game, in a stadium where Sporting hasn't won in a long time. He has never won since we've been here. We have many goals, and the pressure is high for us. The inconsistency is obvious, and it happens to everyone. You have to know how to deal with it. I think I lost a bit of credit with everyone, but mainly with the staff and the players. It's normal, it's part of relationships. I live well with it. I will try to recover, because I am like you and I make mistakes. You want a lot of answers, but I don't even know. I have no answers to give, and that confusion, perhaps, leads me to have behaviors that I shouldn't have. I'm not going to make a big deal out of it. I will move on and we will win the game". 

Last results

FC Porto: W-D-D-L-W

Sporting: W-W-W-W-D

Last elevens

FC Porto: Cláudio Ramos, João Mário, Pepe, Otávio Ataíde , Wendell, Nico González, Alan Varela, Francisco Conceição, Pepê, Wenderson Galeno and Mehdi Taremi.

Sporting: Franco Israel, Jeremiah St. Juste, Sebastián Coates, Gonçalo Inácio, Geny Catamo, Daniel Bragança, Morte>